RISE: Comey says farewell; Republican faces anger; Ryan talks taxes

Former FBI director sent letter to colleagues; MacArthur talks to his voters; House Speaker says it's 'high time in coming' for tax reform.

wire reports

Comey sends farewell letter to FBI colleagues

WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey says in a farewell letter that he does not plan to dwell on the decision to fire him or the "way it was executed."

He says in the letter that although he'll be fine, he will miss the FBI and its mission "deeply."

The letter circulated among Comey friends and colleagues. It was posted online by CNN Wednesday night and a person who had seen the note confirmed the online version was authentic.

Comey also says that "in times of turbulence, the American people should see the FBI as a rock of competence, honesty, and independence."

He says that "it's very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing."

Bye-bye Blue House as S. Korean leader shuns imperial home

SEOUL, South Korea — The new South Korean president is so eager to distance himself from his disgraced, jailed predecessor that he plans to partially abandon one of the job's major perks: the mountainside presidential palace, the Blue House, from which Park Geun-hye conducted her imperial presidency.

Addressing the nation after taking the oath of office Wednesday, Moon vowed to eventually move out of the palace that dominates downtown Seoul, where every modern South Korean president has lived and worked since the end of World War II. It is also closely associated with Park, who grew up there as the daughter of a dictator.

Moon instead plans to commute to an office in the nearby streets of Gwanghwamun, near the square where millions took part in peaceful protests for months before Park was removed from office and arrested in March on corruption charges.

Republican who revived health bill faces onslaught of anger

WILLINGBORO, N.J. — A Republican who headed the effort to revive the health care overhaul passed by the GOP-led U.S. House faced jeers and insults Wednesday as anger boiled over among voters at a town hall in a heavily Democratic part of his district.

Rep. Tom MacArthur faced hundreds of angry voters for nearly than five hours, seeking to both sell and defend the health plan that has drawn widespread outrage and fears among those worried they may be at risk of not being able to afford coverage.

A group of protesters outside lay on the ground with tombstones during a die-in, while inside MacArthur answered heated questions about the health bill and President Donald Trump.

"I hear people calling their congressman an idiot," he said. "I wonder, really wonder, how any one of you would perform in Congress."

MacArthur said he came to the Democratic part of the district for his first town hall since the health care bill passed because he wants to represent both sides and he's aware of the "anxiety" over health care.

"Whether it's fun or not, I owe you that," he said.

Ryan says tax overhaul long overdue

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — Noting he had just gotten his driver's license the last time Congress overhauled the nation's tax system, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday insisted lawmakers will act soon even as he deals with deep divisions in his own Republican Party.

During a roundtable discussion Wednesday at a central Ohio contract packaging plant, Ryan focused on reducing the number of tax brackets to three, eliminating tax breaks and simplifying the code to cut rates for individuals.

"In every generation you have an opportunity," Ryan, 47, said. "The last time we did this — this being, reform our tax system — was the year I got my driver's license: 1986. We have not done this in a long, long time and it's high time in coming."